Metal Slug Anthology (Wii)

...game lovers, you remember playing Metal Slug? Well, Metal Slug, Anthology is the release to commemorate a 10th anniversary of the Original Metal Slug, simply by rolling all the 7 different Metal Slug arcades into one, and there we have Metal Slug Anthology. For the MS vets though, there is still that short-but-just about noticeable loading time in the game, and disappointingly, the Wii remote isn't the ideal thing for playing Metal Slug either.
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The first ever Metal Slug story involved the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad, a small but skilled team of soldiers serving under the Regular Army's special operations division, who fight against the army of General Donald Morden in order to prevent a massive coup d'etat (overthrowing a government) and the creation of a New World Order under General Morden. Later games featured characters from the Sparrows Unit, which ... more

For you arcade game lovers, you remember playing Metal Slug? Well, Metal Slug, Anthology is the release to commemorate a 10th anniversary of the Original Metal Slug, simply by rolling all the 7 different Metal Slug arcades into one, and there we have Metal Slug Anthology. For the MS vets though, there is still that short-but-just about noticeable loading time in the game, and disappointingly, the Wii remote isn't the ideal thing for playing Metal Slug either.
Despite all that, Metal Slug is, after all these years, will definitely bring you back to the times of playing it in the arcades, or it will simply be a good experience for all, whether old or new to the game.

In the beginning...
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The first ever Metal Slug story involved the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad, a small but skilled team of soldiers serving under the Regular Army's special operations division, who fight against the army of General Donald Morden in order to prevent a massive coup d'etat (overthrowing a government) and the creation of a New World Order under General Morden. Later games featured characters from the Sparrows Unit, which is under the control of the Regular Army's intelligence division. In the games following the first, the PF Squad also battles an alien threat to Earth (the Mars People! And we were suspecting that there might be life on Mars...), as well as several other supernatural type of threats including yetis, zombies, Venus flytraps, giant crabs and mummies amongst others. Outlandish elements were subsequently removed from the fourth game to return to the feel of the original title, which actually resulted in poor critical and commercial reception rather than a feel back to the old times. The fifth moved to the motif of modern guerrilla warfare, leaving only traces of the series signature quirky humour and paranormal enemies. Metal Slug 6 then returned to the plot of the first three installments, bringing back Morden's Rebel Army and the Mars People.

Gameplay
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With the comical large head, small body running and jumping in the air doing the egyptian dance, whether shooting mummies or soldiers. In many ways, Metal Slug is like playing Contra on a more comical level, which most probably, has been the winning formula for Metal Slug's success over the years.
The gameplay of the series is characteristic of run and guns: The enemies come in hordes, the weapons have high fire rates. All of these characteristics come from the Contra series, which the gameplay is based on. Metal Slug however takes the concepts introduced in Contra and expands upon them. First and foremost is the ability to perform melee attacks. In most run and guns, contact with an enemy leads to immediate death (Annoying for some yes, but in this case it's more realistically set (if you don't count the rest of the comical environment) regarding a character's health). In this series, contact only results in either party's death if an attack is performed. This leads to the ability for the player to run in and use melee attacks to take down a number of troops. The second addition to the series is the use of vehicles, the eponymous slugs.
The games in Metal Slug Anthology are mostly arcade perfect, right down to the bouts of slowdown which you would have experienced in the arcade anyway. The only thing that disrupts the mood are the extra loading screens that make the pauses between sequences linger for a little longer than they did originally. It is a pretty minor point, one that only series veterans will notice. But because that's basically the audience that would buy Metal Slug Anthology, it's still quite unfortunate.
An ongoing issue with bringing arcade games home is reconciling the fact that you don't need to drop coins into the game to keep playing when you run out of lives! Limited continues can be too punishing for some, while unlimited continues can eliminate much of the challenge. Instead, Metal Slug Anthology sidesteps the issue by letting you choose whether you want limited or unlimited continues. You can save your progress at any point in any of the games, a luxury that any arcade player would have killed for after having run out of coins midway through a game. This game also features an optional autofire setting that lets you simply hold the fire button rather than constantly tap on it, which is a welcome addition for the aging (or simply lazy...) Metal Slug fan. You wouldn't want to break your remote would you?
Though the settings and the enemies your players fight have gotten a bit more bizarre as the series has progressed, the basic gameplay formula has remained mostly consistent. However, the quality of the action hasn't always been as so consistent. Metal Slug 3 is arguably the most ambitious, with a final battle that actually begins with a déjà vu fight against General Donald Morden in his helicopter and ends with you fighting a gigantic alien mother brain in space! Whilst Metal Slug 4, on the other hand, wasn't developed by SNK and almost feels like a Metal Slug bootleg... Metal Slug 5 was better and made the nearly inconsequential change of allowing your character to do a running slide, which was only useful for getting through low passages in a few specific areas. It was a change that disappeared in Metal Slug 6, though Metal Slug 6 has brought more changes to the series than the previous five sequels combined; it changes things up from the start when you're given the choice between an easy and a hard mode. The hard mode offers a standard Metal Slug experience, while in the easy mode your standard infinite-ammo pistol is replaced with an infinite-ammo version of the heavy machine gun. The easy mode also cuts the game short, ending before you get to the game's final level. While there have always been multiple characters to choose from in Metal Slug, they've always been functionally identical. Not only does Metal Slug 6 make Ralf and Clark from King of Fighters into playable characters, it gives each of the six total playable characters in the game some unique characteristics, such as unique alternate attacks, more durable slugs, and more powerful weapons. Additionally, characters can now carry two weapon power-ups at a time and can switch between them on the fly. The sum of these changes doesn't really affect the overall feel of the game and seems a bit like change just for the sake of it.

Visual/Sound
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From a distance, the Metal Slug series doesn't look too different from the countless side-scrolling shooters that were pervasive during the 16-bit era. You run to the right of the screen, shooting and tossing grenades at swarms of enemies while dodging their bullets, picking up weapon upgrades, and rescuing POWs, with the action regularly punctuated by screen-filling boss fights. As generic as that might sound, Metal Slug has always separated itself from the pack with a goofy sense of humor, nicely detailed 2D graphics, and the kind of manic, sometimes punishing gameplay that leaves your hands aching. You'll also regularly happen upon the titular metal slugs' high powered armored vehicles that come in a variety of forms. At their most basic, slugs look like superdeformed tanks, but they can appear as helicopters, jets, submarines, mobile suits, camels, donkeys, and more. What more would you want?
Soundwise, the soundtrack used is relevant to the gameplay, but apart from that, it's not particularly memorable.
Overall, the style hasn't particularly changed much, but being able to retain the music and visual style will simply bring back memories for many.

Technicality
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There's a good half-dozen different controller configurations to choose from, and considering the simple joystick-and-three-button setup that Metal Slug requires, it's surprising that none of the Wii-controller-based options work quite right. The so-called "arcade configuration" has you holding the Wii remote vertically and tilting it as though it were a giant joystick, using the C and Z buttons to jump and fire, and a flick of the nunchuk to toss a grenade. You can hold the Wii remote sideways, hitting the 1 and 2 buttons to jump and shoot, but again, you have to shake the remote to throw grenades. There's even an option that relegates all controls to the Nunchuk, effectively allowing for one-handed play. Metal Slug is challenging enough without gimmicky controls, and what's worse, you'll likely have to refer to the manual to figure out how any of them work. Thankfully, Metal Slug Anthology can also be played with the GameCube controller, which proves to be closest to arcade controls, though surprisingly, there's no support for the classic controller.
On a technical level, the switch from SNK's own NeoGeo hardware has made the outlook very apparent. The hard-pixel look that was once the indicative of NeoGeo games is gone, giving the graphics a kind of soft, dull look. While it doesn't have the crisp feel of the previous games, Metal Slug 6 will automatically zoom the camera out during specific encounters, a little trick that allows for even bigger boss fights (and also a little hint that something big will happen) Metal Slug 6 also sounds quite a bit different from its predecessors, with the rescued POWs featuring a new voice sample and music that sounds much less synthesized. Considering the inherent throwback nature of the series, these changes, while a technical improvement, make Metal Slug 6 feel less authentic.

Overall
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For those that just want a piece of the old arcade history of playing Metal Slug, here's the joy and glory all in one, and now you can play it in the comfort of your own home! Metal Slug Anthology is really a great value for those wants to have all the Metal Slug glory. With its full seven arcade games, each with alternate paths, hidden areas, and also Easter eggs! Which you also gain music and concept art galleries.Along with the game you'll also get developer giving their thoughts of the game, from the design of the series and even talk about a live-action Metal Slug movie! (no such thing exists...yet.) While the traditional 2D action on offer in Metal Slug Anthology might not seem like the best use of the forward-thinking Wii hardware, that doesn't keep it from being a good deal of fun.
But somehow I doubt that this game is going to be as big in popularity compared to other titles such as Prince of Persia or Nintendo's own Wii Sports etc, simply because this game is still largely unheard of compared to other titles; only arcade-game players or in general, hardcore gamers may only have heard of this title.
If you have one though, just remember to have a Gamecube controller handy just in case if the wii remote really isn't working for you.

Prices (All includes Free Delivery unless stated)
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Ebay.co.uk: £13.00, 3 days left
Amazon.co.uk: Buy new: £14.98    Used & new (Marketplace) from £14.97
Play.com: £14.99
HMV: £24.99
Virgin Megastores:£29.00

I'd advise looking for the cheapest bargain on Ebay.

Happy playing! =) 

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